Commish Handy Sues Opponent Pat Farr

North Eugene Commissioner Rob Handy is suing opponent Pat Farr. He alleges Farr is sending out false statements to voters and using false statements in his polls through the Lindholm Company.

A colorful mailer that recently landed in voters’ mailboxes courtesy of a PAC supporting Farr’s bid for the seat on the Lane County Board of Commissioners accuses Handy of everything from being “named in a sexual discrimination lawsuit that cost taxpayers $244,000 dollars” to costing the county $1 million.

According to court documents, what actually happened was that a woman named Linda Wagner sued the county and the entire board of commissioners — which is the case when someone sues the county — and the county settled with her. The case alleged discrimination based on sexual orientation, not “sexual discrimination,” as is written on the mailer.

Another of the misleading accusations is that “Lane County government has paid out $1 million in settlements in the past two years including Rob Handy’s costly ethics violations.” The $1 million refers to all the lawsuits settled by Lane County, regardless of whether Handy was involved. The rest of the mailer’s allegations are in a similar vein.

Kate Kelly, a spokesperson from the Handy campaign, says that Farr “has gone too far by making statements verbally, as part of pseudo polls, and in writing to voters that are not distortions but complete untruths. There has to be a line — and he has crossed it.”

She adds, “This is why we are filing this suit — as a community we have to have some standards about what we will accept as part of campaign rhetoric and out-and-out lies will never be acceptable.”

About the Author

Camilla Mortensen is associate editor and reporter at Eugene Weekly. She is also a folklorist and a community college and university instructor. She has two horses, an assortment of dogs, and lives in a 1975 Airstream trailer. Sometimes all these details collide in unforeseen ways.